Houston ISD kicked off a series of meetings Tuesday to inform families about potentially moving several schools into other campuses with space, a controversial cost-saving measure that’s part of the district’s historic $4.4 billion bond proposal.

Confusion and questions dominated the first meeting, held at Edison Middle School in the Greater East End, one of seven campuses that could move buildings under the proposal. Many of the roughly 80 people in attendance said they were surprised to learn that the 450-student middle school could move to Franklin Elementary School, located a quarter-mile away, if HISD voters approve the bond package in November. 

HISD has described the moves, known as “co-location,” as an alternative to closing small schools, one of the least-popular decisions that a school district can make. All seven schools enroll fewer than 450 students at decades-old buildings operating at less than 70 percent of their space capacity. Each school scheduled to move would be located about a mile or less from its current campus.

Critics, however, have slammed the co-location proposal as a disguised method of shuttering campuses. All seven of the schools proposed for co-location are located in majority Black or Latino neighborhoods.

Gregoria Bahua, whose sixth grade son attends Edison Middle, said school staff members called to inform her about the meeting, but she didn’t realize until she arrived that the district was considering moving her son’s campus. The move likely wouldn’t happen until 2028, after Franklin Elementary receives a $80 million rebuild under the bond plan, HISD Senior Executive Director of External Engagement Najah Callander said.

“I didn’t understand what it was, why we were going to have this meeting,” Bahua said. “I don’t feel like I have much information.”

Under the plan, several schools would move out of their current buildings and join with an existing campus, either in the same building or in a new facility on the same grounds. The schools would share certain spaces, such as athletic fields and cafeterias, but continue to operate separately in distinct buildings or different wings of the same building. 

“Co-locations allow us to maintain our presence in neighborhoods while reducing our operational footprint,” Callander said.

The co-location plan is one part of a multibillion-dollar bond proposal that includes money for rebuilding 22 schools, significantly renovating or expanding 16 campuses, and upgrading facilities across the 270-school district.

HISD officials are expected to hold more meetings at schools affected by the co-location plan, though they declined to comment on when and where other meetings will be held.

In a presentation Tuesday that lasted roughly 30 minutes, Callander and Daniel Solis, another HISD senior executive director, explained the general structure of the district’s plan to combine Franklin Elementary and Edison Middle, which both currently operate below half capacity. Details such as transportation, athletics and school security features will be finalized later based on community feedback, they said.

After the presentation, HISD staff members fanned out to different corners of the room to hold discussions with community members, asking for feedback and ideas on those details. The meeting did not include a group question-and-answer session.

Afterward, Callander said she was encouraged by the strong attendance at the meeting, but she acknowledged that it may have been jarring for some families to learn about potential changes less than two months before the bond vote.

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“We’re expecting that we’ll have several more touches with all of the schools that are impacted by this,” Callander said. “It gives us an opportunity to have the conversation and really work through what is at the crux of (families’ concerns), and then see how we can address it.”

Edison Middle parent Elizabeth Coli, who has children in sixth and seventh grades, said she left Tuesday’s meeting still wondering how sports would work under the co-location arrangement.

“I have a seventh grader that finally wants to get into sports. He wants to play soccer. So, now I’m not sure,” Coli said. “That hasn’t been answered yet.”

Asher Lehrer-Small covers Houston ISD for the Landing. Reach him at asher@houstonlanding.org.

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